Crem One Dual Boiler machine any good?

[bejes]

Has anyone plumbed this in? I have the lfpp, and it is supposed to just attach to the water line, with no taps underneath or anything to change.
However, when i turn on the water line, the water tank fills up and does not stop. It seems as if the solenoid is not preventing water flow.
As per page 17 at https://www.welbiltemea.com/asset/?i...us&prefLang=en

Dual option (WTN):
The machine is equipped with a water tank and a water mains connection. The water tank can be filled manually or, if the machine is plumbed to the mains, the water tank will be refilled automatically when needed without any extra requirements.

Any ideas?
Thanks

[MrGadget77]

Hi guys, am looking into possibly upgrading my single boiler VBM to a dual boiler. The Quickmill Q67 caught my eye but I'm not happy about the spouts on the portafilter being at the back, this will not work well with my Ticket Fausto grinder. The Cream One seems to tick all the boxes. I'm not interested in pressure profiling so it'll be between the base model dual boiler and the GSP.

Do you guys think it's worth getting the GSP model? Does the pre infusion work when using the water tank? Also what happens when the tank runs low? Does it beep or an LED lights up? Does it stop mid shot?

Thanks.

[KernalCooper]

just under 16cm wide and deep.

Awesome thanks. I’ve got a Timemore black Mirror which looks like it should fit perfectly.
Cheers

[alexcs]

just under 16cm wide and deep.

[KernalCooper]

Thanks looks great. Could you please do me a massive favour and give me the dimensions of the Center grill drain with the insert removed? I’m looking to buy some scales and want to make sure they are going to fit in there and can’t find the info anywhere! TIA and for the reviews on this machine!
Ben

[alexcs]

No pressure, but still waiting on the steaming vid......(see what i did there...no pressure...) Ok I will crawl back under my rock.

In all seriousness I would love to see you roll some milk. I did come across a video of an asian retailer demoing the machine and did 2 steaming sessions at different boiler temperatures, but without knowing the language I could not follow his commentary. The higher temp frothing seemed impressive.

Sorry for the long delay, I finally got a passable video of the steaming ability:

[Coffeetim]

Hi, for those having the Crem One 2B or 1B. Any of you regreted or dissapointed with your machine? Can you post an image of the portafilter that comes with the machine? For the 1B owner, does the PID control the steam temperature of the brew temperature? Does it allow different day with different scheduled turn on.?? I am trying to get more information on the machine and planning to buy next year. Thanka

[ElShauno]

I have the 1B Heat Exchanger model as my needs are minimal - but I love it. It may not be immediately obvius to people but with a PID and accessible, adjustable OPV you can still control most of what is happening in the cup, sans the ability to actively change pressure mid-shot.

A few things I love about the Crem:

• Stunning design - but mirror finish means keeping clean can be more... enduring than other machines
• Water tank is strong and has a handle to remove it with - also clear like a Sunbeam/breville and just feel nice than those white plastic one with hoses. That's right, no hose.
• It's an Expobar, so has the pre-infusion dome near the shower. You'll get a more gradual ramp up anyway, and a nice little trick is to flick the lever to the halfway preinfusion point with a third of the coffee pour to go to get as sweeter, smoother finish. Yes, it works - not perfect, but watching the manometer this is usually enough time for it to drop off gradually, hovering around 3-4 bar longer than most of the range, before slowing right down.
• Set your machine to about 8.5 bar. I can't measure the group head, but it came peaking at 10-bar with a blind filter. I set it to 8.5 with the blind, and the shots are much tastier while still being balanced. Tweak from there to your liking.
• Use the spare money to buy a good profile roaster, like the Kaffelogic Nano 7 (which I did) and enjoy some of the cleanest, tastiest coffee you'll ever have :-)
• The PID works remarkably well for a HX - I'd only upgrade to get rid of the noisy vibe pump, not for thermal stability as I'm satisfied - more so than my old Expobar Office Control, that is for sure.

A few things I've done to ensure I'm getting great coffee:

• Added a precision shower screen from Pesado (based on IMS design) - much better dispersion and sweeter shots
• I use either an 18gm or 15gm VST. The former for lattes, the latter for espresso
• I do have to distribute evenly - no different to any other machine I guess - otherwise I see a fair bit of channeling. But, I've also had some shots that look bad due to channeling and taste great.
• I weigh my doses for consistency, and it works.

Some observations/criticism:

• Drip tray is HUGE and you can remove the centre piece to reveal a lowered tray for tall cups, or in my case, to nestle a set of compact scales into. But being relatively a single piece of metal with small holes, it WILL get dirty and/or wet quite often as you flush.
• The top of the machine: half of the top will warm your cups, the other half will not as it doesn't get too hot at all. The water tank and its discrete lid hog this. If you have OCD this will KILL YOU.
• Everything being mirror finish means there's a good two or three ways to see your naked pour without bending down yourself.
• OPV is behind the drip tray. Recommend using a blind filter ands crewdriver to alter, and make sure you place the tray back before lowering the lever :-)
• Spend the money to get precision baskets and showers. They really do make a world of difference, particularly if you drink SO espressos.
• I am not sure if the PID is predictive or actual, as you're actually changing the steam temp to achieve a lower brew temp. If you change, do a long 10-sec flush, and wait 30 seconds or so for it to come back to desired temp. I find this helps.
• On the matter of the PID - beware that changing steam temp changes steam pressure. If you hover around 94c no issues at all - but if you're brewing dark roasts at 89c-90c you will see weaker-than-expected steam pressure from the HX model. Fine for a small pitcher and medium sized pitcher.

I should state - if I was to upgrade, it would absolutely be to either the pressure profiling model, or another machine like a Decent. I truly need nothing more at this level - my goal is to really make this machine work for the next 5-10 years. I love it!

[andrewT]

I'm having real trouble with getting nice microfoam on mine... Played with the different tips and different boiler pressures... I really felt like the tip holes are too big!!

Honestly while it took heaps longer to do it, my old sunbeam made heaps better milk!!

[alexcs]

I have used the usb a few times, I manually edited some shots and if I had more time I would probably try playing around, but no most of the time I just save shots once im happy.

I have a few defaults that I just call 6bar, 9bar etc and save over them as required.

[Boltor]

Btw, coffee looks great!

[Boltor]

Thank you alexcs. Appreciate the detail. Sounds like you manually record and save the shots, rather than doing too much with the import and export files via USB - is that right?

[alexcs]

I tend to get a particular bean dialled in and save the first shot that works well. I might then tinker with max pressure on subsequent shots, but usually I set and forget for that bean, and adjust grind through life of the bag.

Most of my shot profiles are 18-20grams in, 38-42grams out, 40-50 seconds - 2-3bar preinf for around 10-15 seconds (until it sweats) then i ramp up fairly quickly to 6-9bar depending on the bean, then generally quick ramp down to 2 bar for the last 5-10grams of the shot. Once I save it, I will use that profile for a week and it seems to give me the same result every time, with only the time of shot changing.

I find the Ethiopian beans I prefer at 6-7max, the CS espresso wow/latte blends at 8-9.

Dont pretend to have an advanced palate with espresso, but whether these are in lattes or on their own I rarely pull a bad shot once dialled in, and if i do its my tamping skills.

edit: another gratitous pic of this mornings effort :

[Boltor]

Is any owner of the PP machine willing to share their profiles? Interested to get some comments on experiences.

[Boltor]

Just received my dual boiler PP machine today! Lots of initial experimentation! Interested in whether there is a location for profiles / recipes, or just develop these manually? Any latest tips or thoughts for a beginner on this machine?